Feast of the Holy Family – Year B
THE ELDERLY: BUILDERS OF A YOUNG WORLD
Introduction
The sons of Eli, the priest of the Lord at Shiloh, were depraved and did not payany attention to the calls of their father (1 S 2:12). One day a man of God appeared to Eli, who told him: "In your household, no one will live to a ripe old age" (1 S 2:32). It was not the promise that his descendants would be freed from the hassles related to the care of elderly and sick people but the announcement of a terrible calamity.Educators of new generations, the guardians of the sacred traditions, the leaders, thetransmission of the faith would be forever missed. His grandchildren would never live to experience the lament of the psalmist who exclaimed, "With our ears, O God, we have heard: our ancestors have declared to us the works you did in their days" (Ps44:1-2).
There was the commandment ‘Honor your father and mother’ in Israel; however, the formation of new generations was often marked by tension and conflict. There were spoiled, arrogant and reckless young people (1 K 12:8). Some wise old men watched, with serenity and trust, beyond the narrow horizons of their time. There were also dull old people who fought for a nostalgic return to the past, trying in every way to curb the impulses toward the future.
The prophets indicate that generational reconciliation is the sign of the advent of the Messianic era. The Old Testament closes with the announcement of the return ofElijah, who will reconcile parents with their children and children with their parents (Mal 3:24). The New Testament opens with the words of the angel to Zechariah: "Elizabeth will bear you a son; … he will be great in the eyes of the Lord; … he will reconcile fathers and children" (Lk 1:13-17).
In families where there is no elderly person, life can, at times, be easier, but it is undoubtedly the poorest of humanity.
"Even when my strength lessens, my heart will remain young."
First Reading: Sirach 3:2-6,12-14
Sirach, a book of the Old Testament, contains many good and valuable counsels for many different situations in life. It teaches how to deal with friends, guests,women, how to manage money, rapport to maintain with leaders, servants, anddisciples. A significant part of the book is devoted to family life, the duties of husband and wife, the obligations of children to their parents, and vice versa. Some delightful verses can be usefully read, such as Sirach 30:1-13 and 42:9-14; although some of its teachings can no longer be applied to the letter, some educational methods are outdated.
The author, a certain Ben Sirach, from whom the book takes its name, is a wiserabbi who lived in 200 B.C. He is a scholar of the Bible who has assimilated the message and from which he draws counsels for all. At the time of Jesus, the Book of Sirach, although not included in the holy books of Israel, was used by teachers to educate young people. Christians have always appreciated it. In fact, after the Psalms, it was the most widely read book of all the Old Testament. In the past, the book was also called Ecclesiasticus, which means ‘book to be read in the churches.’
The passage mentioned in today's reading speaks of the duties of childrentowards their parents. We introduce it recalling the first verse of the chapter, not mentioned in the reading. It allows us to capture the identity of the author. He is a father of the family concerned with teaching his children the way of life: "My children, it is your father who speaks, listen to me and follow my advice, and so be saved" (Sir 3:1).
To save in the Bible means ‘to put in a large, spacious place.’ Its opposite is toenslave, ‘to reduce to straits.’ Taught by experience accumulated over the years, Ben Sirach knows that young people risk withdrawing into their projects to think only ofthemselves. So, through a misunderstood yearning for complete independence, they can fall into the subtlest hardship, that of selfishness. There is a way to save themfrom the narrowness of the heart: to educate them to gratitude, making them sensitive to the needs of others, especially the needs of those from whom they have received life. "Honor your father with your whole heart and do not be forgetful of the sufferings of your mother. Remember that they gave you birth. How can you repay them for what they have done for you?" (Sir 7:27- 28).
In the first part of the reading (vv. 2-6), Ben Sirach summed up the term ‘honor’ as the children's behavior towards their parents. He repeats this verb five times and applies it equally to both father and mother. Although Sirach lived in a world wherewomen were still discriminated against and considered inferior to men, this esteem for women was no recent news. This was not an absolute novelty because he hadinherited it from the holy books of his people. After those about God, the first commandment that appears is: "Honor your father and your mother" (Ex 20:12; Deut5:16).
The first, most obvious and immediate meaning of the verb to honor is to renderhonor. The children are asked to lead a good, wholesome and correct life so that parents can feel proud of them. The second duty of children expressed with the verb to honor is to provide financial assistance to parents when they need it. At the time of Ben Sirach, the elderly did not receive a pension. After a lifetime of hard work andsacrifice, they were sometimes forced to live in straitened, humiliating circumstances. No child should allow it to happen that they see their parents in such conditions.
Finally, there is a third meaning of the word honor. In Hebrew, it means: to have weight. Parents are to be honored, giving them and their advice the weight they deserve. It is a dramatic experience for older people to feel snubbed, sometimes evenderided, and realize that their words, advice, recommendations, and even gestures of affection no longer have any weight.
The love of children for their parents is something God appreciates. This is evident from the promises of blessings given to those who care for their father and mother. Ben Sirach enumerates five. The love of parents—he says—atones for sins (v.3.14). It does not necessarily mean that God reduces the debt that one may have against him in proportion to the services rendered to the parents. However, when adult children show attention to their parents, giving them love and care, they discover an opportunity not to let go of the precious bond between them. It makes one mature, helps one find out the true values of life, and detaches one from what is ephemeraland sinful. Love of parents makes one acquire treasures before God (v. 4). Maybe in the world's eyes, it appears a waste of time, reducing the chances of success andaccumulating wealth in this world. But the assessment of Sirach does not considerpeople's opinions but recompense, which the Lord will give at the end of life.
Those who honor their parents will, in turn, be honored by their children (v. 5).Wise judgment! Children, as we know, learn with their eyes more than with their ears. They see and do not forget the behavior of their parents towards their grandparents.The attention given to children can sometimes manifest a possessive love; however, love given to grandparents, especially when they need everything, can never bemisunderstood. Such acts are an unrivaled life lesson.
The prayer of one who honors his parents will be granted (v. 5). The love ofparents produces inner peace and brings one closer to God. When this love is lacking, the rapport with the Lord becomes a formality, a cruel and heartless religious practice incapable of touching the heart of God.
Finally, those who honor their parents will have a long life (v. 6). Only in the second century B.C. did belief in life after death started in Israel. Before that, they thought only in terms of this earthly life, so that the highest good was to die asAbraham "in a good old age … after a full span of years" (Gen 25:8). The promise ofthis blessing for those who took care of their parents was not to be missed (Dt 5:16; Ex 20:12)!
The second part of the reading (vv. 12-14) suggests how to behave towards elderly parents. It is possible that the weakening maybe not only physical but also mental. To take care of someone who has lost his memory, who repeats the samebland and sometimes even offensive phrases. That's the time that shows the depth ofone’s affection. The reading speaks only of the duties of the children, and it is understandable after all, Ben Sirach is an old man. Rightly, the children would like toaddress a word to their parents because—as we know—they are not alwaysexemplary. Should they be ‘honored’ anyway?
True love is always free and unconditional. A person is not loved because he is good, but he becomes good by loving him. If this applies to all, it especially applies toparents. Loving them does not mean favoring their flaws and limitations, endorsing their caprices, but understanding and helping them. They are not ‘honored’ if one does not gently try to get them to overcome certain rude behaviors, certain obnoxious habits, certain ways of impolite speaking. And, when they create impossiblesituations, then all that remains is patience.
Second Reading: Colossians 3:12-21
Dress is important. It differentiates us from the animals that go naked. It is an extension of our body. It reveals our tastes and our feelings, shows if we are happy orin mourning, having a day of celebration or business. It cannot be imposed because everyone has the right to choose the image one wants to give of oneself. In biblical language, one’s apparel is symbolic of the works that externally manifest an interior disposition, the heart's choices.
The Christian, who has risen with Christ to new life in baptism, cannot continue to wear an old habit. "You must give up your former way of living, the old self, whose deceitful desires bring self-destruction," Paul says in Ephesians (4:22-24). The same image occurs at other times: "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom 13:14), "you…have put on Christ" (Gal 3:27). The letter to the Colossians also recalls it: "You have put on the new man" (Col 3:10), and it is developed in the following verses, which constitutetoday’s reading.
In the first part (vv. 12-15), Paul lists the characteristics of the Christian habit: "Put on compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, to bear with one another and forgive whenever there is any occasion to do so." We count the fabricsmade by it: there are seven and all fine, almost impossible to find. But the description of the Christian habit is not yet complete. One must also gird oneself with a bond (love) that gives a touch of elegance and finesse to everything else. This cannot be reduced to a vague feeling but manifests itself in a constant attitude of service to the brother, the willingness to sacrifice oneself for the brethren.
This habit is not reserved only for key disciples. Every Christian should wear it; it's the same for everyone: men and women, priests, nuns and laypeople. It should be worn day and night and cannot be taken off. Several ways are indicated to maintain or build harmony among family members in the middle of the reading (vv. 16-17).
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you in all its richness" (v. 16). It is an invitationto meditate together on the Gospel. The family that regularly finds time to devote toreading a page of the Gospel provides a solid basis to agree and make enlightened choices. "You teach and admonish one another" (v. 16). When an agreement is created by selecting the word of Christ as a reference point, it is possible to engage in a constructive dialogue. The counsels and comments are not interpreted as undueinterference, as a constraint in what does not concern us, but as manifestations ofloving care for the person one loves.
"With thankful hearts sing to God, hymns and spontaneous praise." How manytricks and strategies do we need to employ to achieve that mutual trust, harmony, and concord in our families! Paul suggests his way: family prayer.
In the third part of the reading (vv. 18-21), Paul applies the law of love to the rapport between members of the Christian family: he says that women should besubmissive to their husbands, then recommends husbands love their wives without resorting to anger. Women usually do not like Paul’s language and wonder why he did not also tell the husbands: ‘Be subject to your wives.’ It must be recognized that wives have good reason to complain, but what Paul meant to say must be understood. He does not use the word to serve the husbands but employs another one that means the same thing: to love. Does ‘to love’ mean ‘to become a slave’ for a Christian?
The Master has dictated to his men and women disciples, without distinction, the rule that should guide behavior: "And if you want to be the first of all, make yourself the servant of all. Be like the Son of Man who has come, not to be served but to serve" (Mt 20:27-28). In the concluding verse, Paul asks the children obedience in everything. Unlike Ben Sirach, he has a word for parents: beware not to fall into authoritarianism that does not educate but stiffens, creates distrust and exasperates the children.
Gospel: Luke 2:22-40
The Jewish law required that all firstborns, both men and animals, be offered to the Lord (Ex 13:1-16). The children, who obviously could not be sacrificed, were‘redeemed.’ The parents brought to the temple priests a pure animal to be sacrificed in place of the son. The rich were offering a lamb, the poor a couple of turtle doves orpigeons. Mary and Joseph submitted to this provision. Luke did not miss the opportunity to point out that the family of Nazareth was not able to offer a lamb, thatthey were poor.
After recalling this theme, the evangelist immediately introduces a second: the scrupulous observance by the holy family of all the requirements of the law of the Lord. Insistently and almost excessively reiterating it (vv. 22,23,24,27,39), he wishes to emphasize that, from the earliest years of his life, Jesus has faithfully fulfilled the Father's will, expressed in the Holy Scriptures.
The message is addressed to all Christian parents. Their duty is not only to give the children an education, work, and insertion into the fabric of civil society. They are called to a most important mission: to consecrate their children to the Lord from the earliest days of their lives. They should not subject them to special rites beyond the Sacraments but rather instill in them deep convictions. Educating in the faith is more than just teaching prayers and imposing the fulfillment of religious practices. It means putting in the children's hearts the love for ‘the way’ traveled by Jesus, thereby offering them to the Lord so that they will become builders of peace and a new world.
We know that children learn more with the eyes than with the ears. The Christian life of the parents is the best way to give catechesis to the children. If parents pray at home, the children learn to pray with them; if the parents read the Bible, the children learn to seek the light of their lives in God's Word; if parents participate faithfully inthe meetings of the Christian community, the children will—hopefully—follow and become committed Christians; if parents practice love, forgiveness, generosity towards the brothers/sisters, the children imitate them. That's how Christian parentsconsecrate their children to the Lord.
In the second part of the passage (vv. 25-35), which is the center of today's Gospel, an old man, Simeon, enters. He is described as "a just man and fears God,awaiting the consolation of Israel" (v. 25).
As the years pass, bitterness often increases, and older people like to look back onthe past. The days of senior years come when one says: ‘They make me sick!’ days in which one sleeps little and badly, "the sparrow stops chirping and the bird-song is silenced" (Ecl 12:1-4). Then they willingly take refuge in the memory of youth,abandon themselves to a melancholy regret and exclaim with Ecclesiastes: "Youth and dark hair will not last" (Ecl 11:10).
Simeon teaches us how to grow old. He also remembers but has no regrets, norecriminations on the present, and does not complain that "the former times were better" (Ecl 7:10). He remembers God's promises and awaits the fulfillment withunwavering confidence. It's an old example: He does not want to return to being ayoung man because he has fulfilled his own life and has always been guided by theHoly Spirit. He feels his life force is in decline, and yet he remains capable of cultivating high hopes. He lives in the light of the Word of God; for this reason, even though he realizes that his days are coming to an end, he does not fear death. He is happy and asks the Lord to welcome him into his peace. He does not fear the evil he sees around him. He does not let himself be overcome by impatience or despair, evenif violence and injustice still occur everywhere. He talks with God and looks forward,conscious that nothing will change in a short time. However, he rejoices, contemplating the dawn of the new world. He rejoices like a farmer at the end of the sowing season; he dreams of heavy rains and an abundant harvest.
Simeon is not selfish. He does not think of himself, of his advantage, but others,of all humanity, of the joy that all will experience when the Kingdom of God isestablished. Simeon—who was not a priest of the temple—took the child from the arms of his parents (v. 28). With this gesture, he becomes the image of the people of Israel who, for centuries, had waited for the Messiah. He now welcomes him and, with joy, blesses the Lord: "My eyes have seen your salvation, which you display for all the people to see.... Here is the light you will reveal to the nations, and the glory of your people Israel" (vv. 30-32).
Simeon looked forward to the time when the Lord would comfort Israel (v. 25), indeed remembering the Lord's promise: "As a son comforted by his mother, so I will comfort you. You shall be comforted in Jerusalem. At the sight of this, your heart will rejoice" (Is 66:13-14).
Simeon rejoices when he sees and takes the Messiah of God in his arms. He nowoffers him, in the name of Israel, to all peoples. This moving scene depicts the task of transmitting the faith within each family. Generations of Christians accept the Lordfrom the hands of their parents and hand it to their children and grandchildren so that it becomes, for them, the light that gives meaning to every event in life.
Simeon continues with a second prophecy addressed to Mary. Her son will become a sign of contradiction. For someone, he means salvation; for others, he will be a cause of ruin, and a sword will pierce the soul of the mother (vv. 34-35).
Luke, like John, introduces, from the beginning of his Gospel, the theme of conflict caused by the light of God, destined to enlighten all nations. The wicked"hate the morning as their darkest hour, the time for them to fear" (Job 24:16-18).
The image of the sword that will pierce the soul has been interpreted in the past as the announcement of the drama of Mary at the foot of the cross. Not so. The mother of Jesus is understood here as the symbol of Israel. In the Bible, Israel (female name in Hebrew) is a woman, a bride, made fruitful by God. She conceives and givesbirth to her son. No one better than Mary could represent this mother, Israel. Simeonunderstands the plight of his people. In Israel–he said–a deep laceration will happen. In front of the Messiah, the envoy from the sky, some will open their minds and hearts and welcome the salvation; others will close themselves in denial, declaring their downfall.
Luke has in mind the situation of his community in which many believers have been marginalized because of their faith in Christ, by their best friends, and by theirfamily members. Later in his Gospel, with a clear reference to this prophecy, he will report the statement of Jesus: "Do you think that I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on, in one house five will be divided: three against two, and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father; mother against daughter and daughter against mother; mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law" (Lk12:51-53).
In the third part of the passage (vv. 36-38), another elderly person appears: theprophetess Anna. She is eighty-four years and this number, which is the result of7x12, has a precise symbolic meaning: 7 means perfection, while 12 represents the people of Israel. Anna is, therefore, the woman–Israel–who, having accomplished her mission, gives the world the expected Messiah.
This prophetess is of the tribe of Asher, the smallest, the most insignificant of all the tribes of Israel. In fact, in the blessing Moses pronounces upon the people before his death, that tribe appears last (Dt 33:24). Luke points out that Anna belongs to thistribe to show, once again, that the poor are better prepared to recognize Jesus as theSavior.
Anna is a woman faithful to her husband to the point of not remarrying. Her choice has a theological significance for the evangelist. Like the aged Simeon, Anna is the symbol of the faithful remnant of Israel, the bride of the Lord. She has only onelove in her life, then lives as a grieving widow until the day she accepts Jesus as her Lord. She then again rejoices as the bride, who finally finds the groom.
Anna has not moved away from the temple of the Lord (v. 37). That's the home of her groom. She does not go looking for lovers nor waste time with idols. She does not go from house to house to pass the night in empty talk, gossip and slander. She knows that the days of life are precious and should be spent in intimacy with the Lord andserving the community.
Older people never feel useless when they live in expectation of the coming of the Lord. They can always perform many humble services that are valuable and bring joy to others. They have, above all, as the old prophetess, the task of talking about Jesus to those who are looking for a way of life. They have enriched themselves with spiritual experience. This is the most precious heritage that must be bequeathed to future generations.
The passage ends (vv. 39-40) with the return of the Holy Family to Nazareth andthe record concerning the growth of Jesus. He was no different from the children of his village if not because "he was filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon him." Despite being the son of God, he accepted our human condition and shared,even from childhood, all of our experiences.